The breathing in methods described in the Complete Record of Holy Benevolence

Author: Zhang Chaohe 1//Wang Yu 2
Affiliation: Henan Chinese Medical College, China [1] //Henan Science and Technology Publisher, China [2]
Conference/Journal: 2nd Int Conf on Qigong
Date published: 1989
Other: Pages: 236 , Word Count: 1588


The Complete Record of Holy Benevolence had two hundred volumes of three million characters, which was collected by Zhao Ji in 1111 to 1117 who was a Taoism believer and called himself 'Monarch of Tao and emperor', praised special food to gradually eat nothing, leading and breathing in, exercised dan and etc. The last three volumes had discussed these problems as special topics, the following is about inhalation.

1. The contribution of much attention to the cultivation of energy stream
The whole body gets into one energy stream which are carried by shape and of which shape is full, energy stream is in line with shape, that will be naturally longevity. Energy stream flows to normalize shape and energy stream dampens to work diseases. Normal energy stream causes true energy stream to the place where it should be, Aim of cultivating energy stream is that normal energy stream is kept to coordinate the energy streams from heaven and earth.
To love energy stream leads to Tao, energy stream is Tao, to obtain Tao is to obtain energy stream and to obtain Tao is to arrive at longevity. Tao is the law of energy stream, man can maintain all kinds of energy streams so that 'Tao is the monarch of every energy stream'.
The gate of essence of life is the mother of spirit, energy stream can produce essence of life essence of life is a essential part of energy stream, thus energy stream is the gate of essence of life. essence of life is generated by energy stream. 'Essence of life is spirit, to treasure essence of life is to eliminate spirit. Energy stream is spirit's mother, and spirit is energy stream's son, they generate each other, in fact they are one union. To store essence of life and stream and nourish it may bring about spirit.' eating grains enhances intelligence, inhalation enhances spirit ', this indicate that inhalation may cause sensitivity and supernatural ability and longevity.
Normal energy stream leads to peace of spirit. Spirit is monarch, energy stream is civilian. Spirit controls energy stream which is the root civil peace leads to monarch's set up. Do light and quiet first, pay attention to quiet with spirit. Normalization, quiet and set-up are based on the normalization of energy stream. People full of essence of life and energy stream were called true people.
Normalization of energy stream beings about true energy stream reaching the place where it should be carrying Yin and hugging Yang establishes the body, original spirit is the application, peace and quiet is liable to be full in body and to be of special use so that the body can not be spoiled and the use can not go to the end.
To love energy stream is to obtain Tao and to get longevity, energy stream nourishes cosmos and the same as body. To amass energy stream is to live, to scatter it is to die. Energy stream can generate essence of life and spirit. The three is taken energy stream as root which is the gate for producing essence of life and spirit, normal energy stream causes nourishment of essence of life and peace of spirit. So the first for keeping health and curing diseases is to maintain, cultivate and love energy stream.

2. Breathing in Methods
To exercise energy stream is to run it where it is peace and quiet in the forest and to the sun and near water or fountain in a prone position, with two feel about 5 cuns away, two arms apart the body about 5 cuns, eyes closed and hand tightened pillow is 3 suns high, if there are diseases in the chest 7 cuns high. saliva is slowly swallowed down and is lead to low dantian. Internal energy stream is sucked in with nose slowly and slowly to the great extent. 'after five inhalations one expiration goes up to ninety inhalations, if oppressed, one may stretch out body slowly and repeatedly. One circulation is equal to three hundred and sixty inhalations, this can cure diseases for a long time. If one want to inhale first one may expiration little to and foro, energy stream is lead by nose without abnormal rising of Yital energy stream runs according to the inhalation and the expiration in the whole body. ninety breathing make one swallowing, if not full, continue to return ninety breathing to 27 breathing. When people think about energy stream flowing up to the edge of hair and four branches, they will warm and finally energy stream is up to SanLi. It was said in the canon that energy stream was guided to flow out from ten fingers during period of 15 days' training and from ten toes during the period of 16-30 days' training, for a long time energy stream flow in hand and foot without stop, this leads to strengthen body and meridians and regulate the inside and the outside. Bone is fresh and organs are full of energy streams without evils. Turtle breathes to get longevity.
The key to running energy stream lies in the deep and light breathing. Longevity may be desired if the whole body is full of energy-stream and evils are abandoned.
The pause method of breathing is that energy stream is guided nose lightly and repeatedly. If the process is repeated to hundred times, energy stream is inhaled from nose and to four branches and is not aspirated out of mouth. If oppressed in the chest people many guide lightly with ideas energy stream distribute in four branches from the top to the down. If Tao is obtained, diseases disappear. Notice at the beginning of the pause of breathing making peace and quiet is the first.
Swallowing energy stream in a right prone position one closed his eyes and click tooth 36 and aspirated exhausted gases, rolled up abdomen seven times up and down, right and left. To stop the breathing and make abdomen upward and full of saliva, 35 swallows constitute one pause, and 9 swallows constitute one breathe. The more and the better. Each swallow is made down to lower dantian by means of ides. Up to ten pause the energy stream passes everywhere, the circulation in abdomen exists for 20 pauses if food decreases it is the best. One think about a body in mother's fetus with heart and mind together, energy stream will come to where it should be cold energy and the summer and warm energy stream is breathed in in the fall and the winter, living energy stream is usually breathed in at the first six Earthly Branches to bring about the increase in force at the latter six Earthly Branches to bring about the increase in force at the latter six Earthly Branches with mouth closed If the weather is not shine external air can not. toe breathed in in a way above mentioned.
Breathing in and no eating
If one eats nothing but energy stream, the exhausted will be drained out to promote the circulation of energy stream. For beginners food is gradually reduced mouth by month. During the two days of no eating, 5 Chinese dates and 9 pies of Fangoun may be eaten day and night. Warm water may be good drinks so and forth. If one wants to eat, one may eat light soup first increasing month by month, ten days later one may have light dinner and not so full.
that was confirmed in breathing in Procedures of chisongzi' that the greatest benefit was living and the greatest catastrophe was death, if one wanted to get longevity, and no dying was that no the exhausted existed in abdomen, intelligence was from food and spirit from energy stream. So living Tao was no eating food, returning back Yin and Yang was the greatest treasure, if one did it long and long what was the end of life.
Other methods of breathing in are breathing in method of five element, 12 Earthly Branches breathing in Method Swallowing method of five elements and etc. The breathing in method of first six Earthly Branches said that swallowing numbers were 81 swallows at midnight (Zi), 64 at the day break (Yan), 49 in the morning (Chen) 36 at noon (Wu), 25 Shen, 16 at the dawn (Xu) 'apparent water in pool goes into the spirit root, son may be exercised to make up the life gate' If wingmen is full of essence of life, internal dam will be finished to change forever.

3. The effect and the forbidden
Breathing in can enhance the body nature, if training is successfully finished, dantian is full and even if one does not breath in all day, there is no loss of body in language, sounds and forces. One may see organs in body and their positions, finally this may produce supernatural feeling.
The method can cure diseases by guiding energy streams of five organs to the place where diseases exist by means of ideas or streams. The process is: one years stream change, 2 years blood change, 3 years marrow change, 6 years bone change, 7 years hair change, 8 years tendon change, 9 years shape change called true exercise and 9 return.
The forbidden: 1. raw vegetables, sour objects, which may spoil energy stream and spleen.

2. Stimulation of seven emotions
In all the Complete record of Holly Benevolence stressed on the cultivation of energy stream, developed fully the theory that energy streams was Tao, Tao may be got by exercise of energy stream, and introduced methods of breathing in and no eating and the forbidden, it was practical, it was the works on breath theory and practice very difficult to obtain and worthy for us to research.